Senate Sends Water Bill to Trump

The Senate voted 99-1 to approve the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S 3021) to President Donald Trump. The measure, also referred to as the Water Resources Development Act, was cleared by the House.The bill would authorize $6.1 billion of federal spending on 12 Army Corps of Engineers projects, authorize $4.4 billion for the state drinking water revolving loan fund program and make changes to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program designed to ease the application process. It provides states and water utilities with highly subsidized financing to construct mega-projects such as water treatment plants or to replace lead pipes.The bill also would have the National Academies study whether the Army Corps of Engineers should continue to be a part of the Department of Defense.